Natural behavior is learned through dopamine-mediated reinforcement

Dopamine-based reinforcement is well studied in artificial tasks, but its role in learning natural behaviour needs direct evidence. This talk tracks juvenile zebra-finch song alongside dopamine signals in a song-related basal-ganglia region. Signals distinguish renditions approaching the eventual adult song from poorer versions, predict later behavioural change and depend on recent performance history. These observations support a prediction-error account of reinforcement during developmental vocal learning.